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Athletics

Chepseba, Jepkosgei Dazzle in Belgium

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28- Nixon Chepseba and Janeth Jepkosgei forced their way into London Olympics reckoning by starring at the FBK Games in Hengelo on Sunday.

Chepseba, the reigning Samsung Diamond League men 1500m champion who finished fourth (3:31.32) in the opening meet in Doha (May 11) was rewarded with a career best in Hengelo when he blasted to a 3:29.90 victory in Belgium.

Running under warm conditions, Chepseba who played second fiddle as his chief rivals for the Metric Mile tickets to London, Commonwealth gold medallist, Silas Kiplagat (3:29.63) and Olympic titleholder, Asbel Kiprop (3:29.78) power to the world leading top two times of the season fired his intent by a performance that ranks him number three.

Having followed the pair who won silver and gold at the Daegu World Championships into dipping under the 3:30 standard, the lanky 21-year-old has thrown an intriguing twist into the race for men 1500m Olympics ticket.

Besides the trio, newcomer Bethwell Birgen (SB-3:31.17), youngster Collins Cheboi (SB-3:32.64), Geoffrey Barusei (SB-3:33.39) and Daegu semi-finalist, Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (SB-3:33.43) who replaced Chepseba in the South Korea squad are other 1500m runners in the world top-ten thus far into the young outdoor season.

With the resurgence of Olympics women 800m champion, Pamela Jelimo dominating news, her bridesmaid in Beijing, Janeth Jepkosgei, crafted her own headlines in Hengelo when she won in 1:57.79 that lifted her to number two in the 2012 world list behind her domestic rival.

The ‘Eldoret Express’ won in a performance that mirrored the front running finesse she displayed when she powered to the world title in 2007 thereby proved she was not a dispensed force as London Olympics beckon.

At the season’s Diamond League opener, Jepkosgei raced 1:58.50 to finish third behind Jelimo who thundered to the 1:56.94 world lead and Ethiopia’s rising sensation, Fantu Magiso (1:57.90) whom she supplanted from the number 2 slot in the rankings.

Elsewhere, New York Marathon champion, Geoffrey Mutai, continued dusting off the disheartening failure to nail a London Olympics ticket when he destroyed the field in the Ottawa 10K race in Canada also on Sunday.

Despite the warm temperatures (around 23 celsius at the start) Mutai, the Boston and New York marathons record holder, tore through the early kilometres of this IAAF Silver Label Road Race with only Morocco’s Mohamed El Hachimi brave enough to follow. The pair passed three kilometres in 8:03. That was enough for the Moroccan.

Mutai was alone from that point forward reaching 5km in 13:35 and it appeared that he had Deriba Merga’s 2009 event record of 27:24 in sight. At the 6km mark the course turned into a strong wind and the workload got much harder as he pushed on alone. But like Merga, who was chasing the then-world record of 27:02, he visibly slowed over the final two kilometres and had to be content with the victory in 27:42.

El Hachim hung on for second in 28:26 with compatriot Simon Ndirangu third (28:38).

“I knew what the course record was and if there was someone to push pace I could have run even faster,” Mutai told IAAF after the race.

“I still have to train well. In Kenya I didn’t train very well for a long time. It was raining a lot and the roads where I train (in Kapng’entuny) were very muddy,” he added.

Mutai, who was overlooked for London after failing to hold on to his Boston title last month when he dropped out of the race stated his Olympics heartbreak had spurred him on to focus on redeeming his standing.

“That motivated me to look forward to run more races. It did not affect my mind,” he insists. “I am still looking forward to further competition. I am not sure of my next race but I will be preparing for a Marathon. I don’t know which one yet.”